Past Exhibitions
- Kano School Fan Paintings
- July 20, 2016 - August 21, 2016
Folding fans are growing rarer in today’s air-conditioned society, but they were essential objects to Japanese in the past. Not only did they fulfill the practical function of providing relief from the heat, but they were also indispensible as gifts for celebratory events. Numerous fans were produced in Japan, many decorated with paintings on a range of subject matters, thus serving as small, portable works of art. Some of the most important fan painters were artists of the Kano school. Under its second-generation head Motonobu (1477–1559), the Kano even ran a specialized fan painting workshop that turned out volumes of painted fans. This exhibition features outstanding examples of fan paintings by illustrious Kano artists.
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